Tuscarora residents want yearly meeting

By MARY BARKERmbarker@cheboygantribune.com

Thursday

Jun 13, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Confusion and concern about the ending of a decades-long tradition of holding an annual township board meeting was the focus of public comments at Wednesday’s Tuscarora Township Board of Trustees meeting.

Confusion and concern about the ending of a decades-long tradition of holding an annual township board meeting was the focus of public comments at Wednesday’s Tuscarora Township Board of Trustees meeting. The annual meeting has typically been held at the end of the township’s fiscal year in June. Township Clerk Susan Fisher said by choosing not to schedule an annual meeting this year, the tradition has elapsed. She said it is the first year the current board has gone without an annual meeting and Fisher confirmed the board checked with the Michigan Township Association and with its legal counsel before deciding not to schedule the annual meeting, thus allowing it to dissolve in the future.At an annual meeting, township voters are allowed to vote on proposed raises for township officials, but for the past two years, voters have voted against issuing raises. In May, at its regular board meeting, the board voted to allow raises not to exceed 3 percent for officials. Fisher said it has not been decided whether raises will be granted, or by how much, until the budget is fully reviewed prior to the June 30 deadline for adoption.Township resident Kathy Swanson addressed the board stating its decision not to schedule the annual meeting did not abolish the meeting. Instead, she charged each board member individually with taking action to “evade” the annual meeting. She said these actions resulted in a less democratic and more elitist structure of government, which restricts citizens rights to interact with their government.Township resident Robin Rohn also went before the board to state her disappointment with losing the annual meeting. She said last year’s meeting was a “hard two hours,” but that it did not mean the process should end. Rohn said she supported any effort to reinstate the annual meeting.Since the May meeting, a petition has been approved to allow voters to decide whether to bring the annual meeting back. That will be on the August 2014 primary election ballot. Another petition to hold a special election to vote on township officials salaries has been filed with the township clerk’s office, and signatures are being verified. Fisher said once the verification process is completed, a date will be set. Supervisor Mike Ridley said he makes the agenda for township meetings and did not schedule an annual meeting this year because of the “fiasco” that happened last year. “The year before was very embarrassing to our township. It was unpleasant and unproductive,” said Ridley. “I used to enjoy these. Before last year, the previous three years it (the annual meeting) was very free flowing; a lot of back and forth; a lot of questions. There was a lot of acrimony last year and there is a lot more this year.” Ridley said the acrimony revolves around the issues of the proposed wastewater treatment facility, which has been the subject of many public meetings and comments from people opposed to the development over the last year.In other action at Wednesday’s meeting, Tuscarora Township Chief of Police R.J. Wagner reported it appears likely that work on M-68 from the intersection on Old U.S. 27 at Vivio’s restaurant to King Road will be completed ahead of the July 15 deadline. In addition to new pavement, drainage is being installed along each side of the road where 8-foot paved bicycle paths are being built. The distance of the project is about four miles.Wagner informed the board that starting June 17, the Michigan Department of Transportation will be applying treatment to cracks in the roadway on M-68 from Old U.S. 27 to the I-75 southbound ramp. From there it will move to the I-75 northbound and southbound ramps and the I-75 business loop at Old U.S. 27 to M-32.The police department will continue its patrolling efforts to keep workers and people safe in the ongoing construction areas. In addition, officers will be shifting focus from the schools to DeVoe Beach on Burt Lake as students are already beginning to congregate at the popular site with the recent end of the school year.Tuscarora Township Downtown Development Authority, (DDA), chairman Dan Nivelt said he hopes the Streetscape project will be put out for bids around September with groundbreaking the following spring. Funded with approximately $1.2 million from DDA monies and $300,000 in multi-county road commission dollars, improvements will include repaving the downtown roads and redoing sidewalks, consolidating electrical poles, adding and reconfiguring parking and adding bump outs to slow traffic. The light pole theme, which has been started with the construction of the new downtown bridge, will be continued through town all the way to the intersection of M-68 and Old U.S. 27. Cindy Poquette, DDA vice president and Pathway project manager, said the project’s final plan is awaiting approval from the Cheboygan County Road Commission and could be put out for bids in about a week. The paved pathway will travel from Club Road to the intersection of M-68 and U.S. 27 where it will cross and continue to just north of the entrance of Burt Lake State Park. There will be a pedestrian bridge over the Sturgeon River in that area and then it crosses the road and continues along the treeline toward the Inland Lakes Schools and up to the corner of M-68 and U.S. 27. and then east to the elementary school. There will be traffic signals on poles along the pathway as well as warning strips and other safety measures. A pedestrian refuge structure will be built on the road where the path crosses from M-68 to Burt Lake State Park. The project has been in the planning stages for several years. Total funding is approximately $859,000 and is provided through multiple sources including the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund, Michigan’s Safe Route to Schools fund and theTuscarora Township DDA.Tuscarora Township Planning Commission Chairman Mike Cherveny appointed John Schams and Dan Nivelt to fill the seats of Dave Barton and Jim McLaren, who are stepping down from their positions on the commission.

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